1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a moveable platform facilitating access and inspection of vehicle chassis. Specifically, the platform comprises a main body and a series of removably attached wheel supports.
2. Background of the Invention
Inspection of a vehicle chassis is generally a two step process.
First, the space between the vehicle and the ground on which the vehicle stands must be increased, such that the vertical clearance is sufficient to allow a person to access the chassis from all angles. While through hydraulic or other means it is possible to lift the vehicle many feet off the ground, such high lifting requires specialized equipment and creates safety issues as well as other problems. For instance, while light passenger vehicles can be lifted with standard equipment, heavier passenger vehicles and commercial or industrial vehicles require complex and expensive lifting equipment in order to be raised sufficiently off the ground to allow personal inspection while standing.
An alternative is to jack up the vehicle by only a few feet, allowing inspection personnel to examine the car while lying on a moveable surface. The inspection of vehicle chassis while in the lying position has numerous benefits and has become the standard method of servicing vehicles. However, for safety and access reasons, the person checking the vehicle will not want to lie directly on the ground where the vehicle is parked. Instead, a support platform is employed. Such support platforms are termed vehicle creepers.
Support platforms must be highly mobile, contain as few elements as possible, and facilitate mobility while decreasing the amount of vertical space the creeper requires. Inasmuch as when the creeper takes more vertical space, less space is available for operating on the vehicle. A creeper that has a high vertical profile would require the car to be lifted higher. Once the car must be lifted more than a few feet, the same specialty lifting equipment must be used that would be required to lift the vehicle to the height of a standing person. As such, poorly designed creepers defeat the benefit on not requiring specialty jacking equipment.
Support platforms are therefore designed to be as low as possible. However, thin platform design approach results in little padding being placed on the user contact surface of the support platform. Given that some vehicle maintenance and inspection tasks require several hours, a thin platform results in considerable discomfort for the user of same. Alternatively, in order to increase the padding on the platform, some support platforms utilize wheels having minimal diameters. While this achieves a minimal vertical footprint, it results in support platforms that are difficult to maneuver over the smallest of obstacles, such as channels in concrete barriers. Small wheels also decrease mobility of the platform when a heavy load is placed thereupon. A support platform without sufficient mobility is self-defeating in most circumstances.
Finally, vehicle inspection support platforms are generally designed to take up as little space as possible while not in use. A narrow design is generally employed in order to minimize the amount of space required for the support platform. While this design limits the surface area of the platform, it has a detrimental effect on the stability of the platform and on the comfort of the user of same.
A need exists in the art for a support platform that features a sufficient amount of surface padding, that employs large casters without increasing the vertical clearance of the support platform, and that does not take up an excessive amount of space at times it is not used.